


Against the Wind

by kiite



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 20:25:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14433417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiite/pseuds/kiite
Summary: Crow and Shinji duel, in unfortunate circumstances.





	Against the Wind

**Author's Note:**

> Here’s a rewrite of that scene where Crow and Shinji like almost duel before Shun interrupts ...

“Sorry, Crow, but if necessary we’ll see our revolution through by force.”

Crow watched in frustration as Shinji, Tony, and Damon activated their duel disks, intent on a fight. He gritted his teeth and activated his own, raising it up in front of his chest. The orange light filled out, matching the orange glow of Shinji’s disk.

A sudden commotion from behind Shinji’s group drew their attention; more Commons were grappling with Security, and they were losing. Shinji swore and turned to Damon.

“You guys go help out over there.” He turned back to Crow, raising his disk up. “I can handle this alone.” Tony and Damon nodded without hesitation and headed off towards the scrap. Crow returned Shinji’s hard stare with one of his own.

“I’ll go first.” he said, looking at his hand. Crow placed Blackfeather - Gale the Whirlwind in defense position. “I end my turn. Shinji-“ Crow began, his voice pleading.

“My turn!” Shinji nearly shouted, cutting Crow off. He summoned Bee Force - Arbalest the Quickshot. “Since when were these Lancers and Academia more important than your own home, Crow?” he said, slapping his card down aggressively. “What about your friends?”

Crow had done a fairly good job at keeping his anger under control until now, but he was nearly at his wits end. “I _am_ thinking about my friends! If Academia gets what they want-“

“That’s your problem!” Shinji shouted, interrupting him again. “We don’t know anything about this Academia place, besides what we’ve been told by a bunch of strangers! Meanwhile, the chance to get what we’ve always dreamed of is right in front of us! Our revolution is happening now, Crow!” He ordered his monster to attack, destroying Crow’s face down card and ending his turn.

Crow drew and immediately shot back at Shinji. “ _Our_ revolution?!” he asked incredulously. “Shinji, this is _your_ revolution. I just had to comfort a crying Tops kid who got separated from his parents. He was scared that he was going to get killed, Shinji.” Crow shook his head. “If this was really our revolution, it wouldn’t be like... this.”

Shinji fixed him with a hard stare, full of determination. “We knew this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, Crow. But we have an enemy, and we must defeat it, no matter the cost.”

Crow’s voice was quiet when he spoke. “Even if the cost is me?” When Shinji didn’t say anything for a while, Crow laughed; it was a hollow laugh, sad and empty. “Ah. I see. You always do what you want in the end, anyway.”

He looked at his hand; his original strategy had been to stall for time until he could convince Shinji, but now he was certain that wasn’t a viable option.

He had two options now: beat Shinji, or surrender. He weighed both of them; beating Shinji brought no guarantee of an end to the violence, but it might slow it down. However, it was obvious to Crow that this was way out of anyone’s control, and beating one person wouldn’t change much.

If he surrendered, well... that certainly wouldn’t change anything. But a part of him didn’t want to fight anymore; part of him wanted to find the kids and take them home and hide in the bedroom until everything was over. It was certainly tempting...

Crow shook his head as he examined his cards again. He couldn’t give up; he had too many people he loved who he had to fight for. He would beat Shinji, and help the Lancers in any way he could. Anything to defend his friends and family.

Just as he was about to make his move, someone called his name. Crow turned down the alley and saw three familiar faces running towards him. “Frank! Amanda! Tanner!” he called, kneeling down to meet them. They ran into his open arms and hugged him, happy to be reunited.

“We found Yuuya!” Frank said, smiling. Amanda looked happy as well. “We took him to the Duel Palace.” she said proudly. “But Serena...” Tanner chimed in, sounding sad.

“I already know. You all did great.” said Crow, understanding. He put a comforting hand on Tanner’s shoulder before he rose back up to face Shinji. The kids assessed the situation before standing behind Crow, gripping the fabric of his pants and watching Shinji warily.

The look on Shinji’s face was a mixture of shock and anger as he stared at Crow. “You let them go off on their own?” Shinji asked in disbelief. Crow scoffed and glared at him.

“If I knew you planned on threatening children, I probably wouldn’t have.” Crow muttered darkly, standing protectively in front of the kids. They peeked around his legs, their wide eyes fearful as they focused on Shinji.

If Shinji hadn’t been hurting before, he was now. Crow knew why; part of Shinji’s motivation for revolting was a better future for the kids in the Commons who had been mistreated by society. Shinji and Crow had both been such kids, and before moving in with Crow, the three kids had been too.

Frank, Amanda, and Tanner had spent their youth on the streets, digging through Top’s scraps and running from Security even though they’d done nothing wrong. When Crow took them in, it was still tough to get by, but it was much better than the streets. Shinji loved them dearly, always spoiling them and agreeing to play whatever they wanted.

Shinji often told Crow how much he wished things were different. The school the kids attended was... less than great. It was only open three days a week, and the whole place was in poor condition. Their clothes were very old, having been re-sewn many times over. They insisted that they didn’t mind any of it, but Crow knew better.

To see the kids who he loved so much, who he desperately wanted to have a better life, look at him like that... The traces of guilt and shame that had been there before were now plain as day. Shinji was thinking a lot of things through, Crow could tell.

Suddenly, Frank ran out from behind Crow and stood next to him. “If you want to beat Crow, you have to beat us too!” he said, doing his best to keep the fear out of his voice. Amanda and Tanner joined him, trying to look intimidating.

“Shinji,” Crow said softly, lowering his duel disk a bit, “Please, think about what I’ve said. I want things to change just as much as you do; but, even though you might argue it, I put my friends and family first.” Crow kneeled back down, pulling the kids towards himself and looking up at Shinji coaxingly. “I just hope you can do the same.”

Conflict apparent on his face, Shinji looked at each of them, one by one. He looked at the cards in his hand, and then at the spirals of smoke rising into the air from fires started by the mob. After a while, he turned his gaze back on Crow; there was something vulnerable and afraid in his eyes.

“I...” he began, his voice quiet. “I don’t want things to go back to the way they were, Crow. I- They can’t, they just can’t.” He dropped his arms to his side, letting them swing limply. “But I don’t want to hurt you, either. Any of you. There’s... no point in changing the world if you guys don’t get to enjoy it as well...”

Crow stood up and crossed over to where Shinji was standing. “Oh, Shinji...” he said softly, but still with an edge of firmness. Crow pulled him into a hug, pressing his forehead into Shinji’s chest. “You huge idiot. Things are going to change, Shinji. We have to have faith in our new friends.”

Frank, Amanda, and Tanner cautiously made their way over to Shinji before throwing themselves into the hug as well, wrapping their arms around his legs. Shinji looked at them, wide-eyed, before turning back to Crow.

“...Yeah. You’re right. I have to... I have to give them a chance.” Shinji said quietly, still sounding a little unsure. Crow pulled back and clapped his hand on Shinji’s shoulder.

“That’s right! If anyone can do it, it’s Yuuya.” Crow smiled. It quickly changed to a serious scowl. “This doesn’t mean I forgive you for trying to fight me, though. We can talk about that later.”

Shinji nodded, shame in his eyes. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, a dark figure jumped down from a nearby roof. Kurosaki straightened himself and looked at the pair.

“Everything alright over here?” he asked, looking at Crow. When he nodded, Kurosaki continued. “Good. Follow me.” Without another word he took off down the alley. Crow and Shinji exchanged a look before running off after him, kids in tow.


End file.
